Alarm control for alarm-clocks.



APPLICATION FILED DEC. 6, !9l5.

Patented Oct. 3, 1916.

Alberr W @0116 04.1fm) WASNINcr-JN. n. c

ALBERT \VI-IITON BAILEY, 6F SPOKANE, WASHINGTON.

ALARM CONTROL FOR ALARld-CLOCKS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Got. 3, 191('.

Application filed December 6, 1915. Serial No. 65,416.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ALBERT WrIrroN BAILEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at 2610 Broadway avenue, Spokane, in the county of Spokane and State of \Vashington, have invented a new and useful Alarm Control for Alarm-Clocks, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in alarm clocks and has for one object to provide a novel alarm control which shall cause the alarm to ring at a predetermined time on each successive day.

Another object is to provide an alarm control with a novel means for manually shutting off the alarm action and automatic means to reset it so that it will alarm at a predetermined time on the following day.

A further object is to provide an alarm control with means for causing the alarm bell to remain silent over a period of an en tire day and further means to then cause it to alarm on the next day.

A further object is to provide a single manually operated member to shut the alarm off after it has been automatically started at a predetermined time and to pre Vent the alarm from ringing at the next arrival of the predetermined time.

A still further object is to provide an alarm control which may be attached to any alarm clock, necessitating very slight changes in the original clock to attach said improved alarm control.

Other objects and features oi the invention will be more fully disclosed in connection with the accompanying drawings and will be more particularly pointed out and described in and by the appended claims- In the drawings :Figure 1 is front elevation of a portion of a clock with my improved alarm control installed therein. Fig. 2 is a plan view of Fig. 1. Fig. 8 is a section on line 3 3 taken through the casing of the clock and showing only that part of the clock mechanism pertaining to the alarm mechanism. Fig. is a section on line i -aofFig. 3. Fig. 5 is an enlarged plan view of the alarm control device showing the mechanism as it will be when sounding an alarm. Fig. 6 is a section on line 6-6 of Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a view similar to a portion of Fig. 5 but showing the position the parts will assume when the alarm is manually caused to cease. Fig. 8 is a section on line 88 of Fig. 7. Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 8 but showing the operation of the means to release the alarm mechanism after it has been postponed over an entire day. Fig. 10 is a front elevation of the alarm wheel. Fig. 11 is a plan view of the same. 1g. 12 IS a perspective view of the push member to manually operate the control. Fig. 13 is a perspective view of a spring member used to interrupt the alarm action.

I have illustrated at 10 a frame which may be suitably secured to casing 11 in any desired manner. An alarm mainspring 12 is mounted on gear 13 carried on spindle 14:, which gear 13 actuates the escapement wheel 15 through the medium of gear 16. A hammer bar 17 carrying hammer 17 is attached to escapement spindle 18 and upon the actuation of the escapement wheel 15 the hammer bar 17 will oscillate causing the hammer 17 to intermittently strike the bell 19 attached to the casing 11 in any suitable manner, to cause an alarm to ring.

A spring member 20 is rigidly attached to the frame 10 at 21 and an extension 22 of spring member 20 is bent at substantially right angles to the main body of spring member 20, as shown in Figs. 6 and 13.

An alarm setting spindle is indicated at 23 and may be revolved by thumb nut 2% attached thereto. Spindle 23 is suitably j ournaled in frame 10 and may be held from longitudinal moven'ient by collars similar to collar 25. 'ligidly attached near the extremity oil alarm setting spindle n8 opposite to that extremity carrying thumb nut 2 1 is a substantially circular member 26 provided with radial projection 27. An alarm wheel 98 is slidably mounted on spindle 23 between the spring member 20 and circular member 26. Spring member 20 is apertured as at 29 to allow for the passage of spindle 23. Preferably attached to alarm wheel 28 is a rim cam 30, whose cam face is indicated at 31 and said cam is constructed in the form oi drum open at one end to permit circular member 26 to slide therein. The spring qualities of spring member 20 tends to hold the cam surface 31 in contact with the projection 27.

The spindle 23 extends through the clock dial 33, and to the portion of .3 which extends beyond the dial 33 is attached the hand 34 which will indicate on the twenty four hour dial. 35 the position of the proj ection 27 which will be in the same radial position as hand 34. It will be noted that a collar 36, made integral with alarm wheel 28, bears against spring member 20. The major portion 37 of the cam face 31 is cut on a plane substantially parallel with the face of the alarm wheel 28, and when projection 27 is bearing upon this major portion 37 the extension 22 of spring member 20 is thrust into the oscillating path of hammer bar 17 as shown in Figs. 3 and 4 to prevent said hammer bar 17 from oscillating. In some forms of alarm clocks, it is customary to interrupt the operation of the alarm ringing mechanism or hold it inoperable by preventing the oscillation of a wire similar to 18 which is fixably at tached to the escapement spindle or arbor 1.8, and hence oscillates simultaneously with the oscillation of the hammer bar 17. I wish it to be understood that the extension 22 is adapted to be thrust into the path of oscillation of wire 13', should such be provided, giving exactly the same results as though extension 22 were acting upon the hammer bar 17.

The cam face 31 is cut to form notch 38 and from the lowest point of this notch 38 the cam face 31 forms an inclined plane 39 to the top of projection 40 which is raised above the major portion 37. The cam face 31 continues from the highest point of projeotion 40 substantially perpendicularly to the major portion 37 to form the shoulder or drop-off 41. The alarm wheel 28- is revolved once every twenty four hours by means of the gear train 45, 44, 43, 42, and 28. Gear 45 is fastened on the minute hand carrying stem 46 which is driven by the usual clock work mechanism, not shown, to revolve said minute hand carrying stem 46 and hence said gear 45, once an hour.

. For illustrative purposes, we will suppose the hand 34 to be set opposite the a. m. designation on the dial 35, which will place the projection 27 in the position shown in Figs. 3 to 9, inclusively. As the alarm wheel 28 and hence cam 30 is revolved by the clock work, the spring member 20 and its extension 22 will be held in the position of Figs. 3 and 4 as long as projection 27 is bearing on the major portion 37 of the cam .'ace 31 and hence will hold hammer bar 17 from oscillating.

lVhen alarm wheel 28 is revolved until the notch 38 in the cam surface 31 is in registry with the projection 27 the spring property of the spring member 20 will exert itself and force the alarm wheel 28 and cam 30 into the position shown in Figs. 5 and 6, and spring member 20 and its extension 22 will assume the position shown in the same figures. This change of position of extension 22 will withdraw it from the path of the hammer bar 17 and the alarm ringing mechanism will be free to oscillate said hammer bar 17 and hence sound an alarm.

A push member 47 is slidably mounted in guideways 48 which also serve to hold push member 47 from moving away from frame 10 and is normally held in the position shown in Figs. 1 to 4 by means of spring 14.9 preferably attached at one end to a frame supporting post 50 and the other end engaging an aperture 51 in the push member 47.

Push member 47 is provided with an aperture 52 which will form shoulders 53 and 54. A stop member 55 is fastened to the frame 10 and extends through aperture 52 to form a stop to limit the longitudinal travel of said push member 47 by abutting against the shoulders or 54. The lower extremity of push member 47 may be beveled as at 56.

An extension 57 is provided on spring member 20 and this extension 57 takes the form of wedge shaped member 58 having a surface 59 forming an inclined plane with respect to the body of spring member 20 and being provided with a catch shoulder (30.

hen an alarm is being sounded and it is desired to stop it, push member will be manually depressed by pressure exert-ed on the button 61 secured to the upper extremity of push member 47 and this depression will force the parts into the position shown in Figs. 7 and 8. The beveled surface 56 of push member 47 in its descending travel, will pass over the inclined plane 59 of extension 57 and thus depress the entire spring member 20 with its extension 22. As soon as the spring member is depressed sufficiently the wedge shaped member 58 will spring into the aperture 52 due to the spring tendency of spring member 20 and the shoulder will catch over shoulder 54 to hold push member 47 and hence spring member 20 and its extension in the position shown in Figs. 7 and 8 after the manual pressure has been released from button (30. l l hen the extension 22 is in the position just described, it will enter the path of oscillation of hammer bar 17 to stop its oscillation and hence cause the alarm action to cease.

The alarm wheel 28 and the cam 30 will be continually revolving all this time and as the incline cam surface 39 passes under projection 27, spring member 20 will be gradually depressed by the collar 36 and when the projection 27 is at a point on inclined plane 39 slightly higher than the major portion 37 of the cam surface 31, spring member 20 will be depressed to such an extent that the shoulder 60 will be released from shoulder 54 and the spring 49 will return push member 47 to the position shown in Figs. 3 and 4. After the highest point of projection 40 has passed under the projection 27 the projection '27 will once more bear on the major portion 37 of the cam face 31 and the alarm mechanism will be ready to actuate upon the next arrival of 6 a. 1n.

At any time while the projection 27 bears upon the major portion 37 of the cam face 31, push member 47 may be manually depressed to prevent the alarm mechanism from actuating at the next arrival of 6 a. 1n. or any other predetermined time and after the arrival of said predetermined time the mechanism will automatically reset itself so that it will cause an alarm action at the succeeding arrival of the predetermined time. This is accomplished in the following manner. Supposing that projection 27 is bearing upon the major portion 37 of the cam face 31 and push member 47 is manually depressed, the shoulder 60 will catch over shoulder 54 as previously described to hold extension 22 in the path of oscillation of hammer bar 17 when the notch 38 comes in registration with the projection 27, to prevent the oscillation of hammer bar 17 at the arrival of said predetermined time. When the high point on the projection 40 passes under the projection 27, the spring member 20 will be sufiiciently depressed to release shoulder 60 from shoulder 54, allowing the push member to return to the position shown in Figs. 3 and 4 and rendering the alarm mechanism operable for the next arrival of the predetermined time, thus preventing the alarm action from actuating on any succeeding day but rendering it operable on the third day.

It will thus be seen that with a single push member I am able to stop the alarm action after it has started to actuate and with the same push member to postpone the next alarm action.

Ihe stem portion 63 of the push member 47 may be provided with a groove or reduced diameter 62, and a member 64 may be slidably mounted on casing 10. Member 64 is provided with tongues 66 which are spread just far enough apart to pass on either side of the reduced diameter 62. A square pin 67 with an enlarged head 68 is adapted to extend through a slot 68 provided in said member 64 to guide said mem ber 64. Member 64 is also provided with an upturned end 69 to afford a means for man ually sliding said member 64 into and out of operative position.

When it is desired to shut the alarm off for an indefinite period, 47 will be depressed and member 64 pushed forward until the tongues 66 extend on either side of the re duced diameter 62 and the tongues 62 will hold push member 47 depressed until the member 64 is manually withdrawn from the groove 62. As long as 47 is thus held depressed, it will be impossible for the alarm mechanism to actuate for reasons heretofore described, but when spring 49 is free to raise push member 47 due to the withdrawal of member 64, the alarm mechanism will be free to actuate at the next arrival of the predetermined time.

It is believed that the advantages and utility of my invention will be clearly understood from the foregoing description, and while I have herein shown and described one specific embodiment of my invention, I do not wish to be limited thereto except for such limitations as the claims may impart.

I claim:

1. In an alarm control, a hammer bar, a hammer attached thereto, means for oscil lating said hammer, a spring member periodically projected into the path of oscillation of said hammer, manually operated means for forcing said spring member into the path of oscillation of said hammer, alarm wheel mechanism for revolving said alarm wheel once every twenty four hours, a rim cam attached to said alarm wheel, a major portion of the actuating face of said rim cam being out on a plane substantially parallel with the face of said alarm wheel, a notch cut in the cam face of said rim cam, and a projection on the cam face of said rim cam, the top of said projection being raised above the said major portion of said actuat ing face.

2. In an alarm control, a hammer bar, a hammer attached thereto, means for oscillating said hammer, a spring member periodically projected into the path of oscillation of said hammer, manually operated means for forcing said spring member into the path of oscillation of said hammer, alarm wheel mechanism for revolving said alarm wheel once every twenty four hours, a rim cam attached to said alarm wheel, the major portion of the actuating face of said rim cam being cut on a plane substantially parallel with the face of said alarm wheel, a notch cut in the cam face of said rim cam. and a projection on the cam face of said rim cam, the top of said projection being raised above the major portion of said actuating face, the cam face extending on an inclined plane between the lowest point of the said notch to the highest point of said projection, said notching being means to allow said springmember to withdraw from the path of oscillation of said hammer, and said projection being means to release said manually operated stop means from said spring member, substantially as described. 3. In an alarm control, a hammer bar, a

hammer, mechanism for oscillating said hammer, means adapted to hold said ham- ;mer from oscillation, said means comprising a spring member, the tension of said spring member tending to withdraw it from the path of oscillation of said hammer, an alarm wheel bearing upon said spring member, a rim cam, a portion of the actuating face of said cam being cut on a plane substantially parallel with the face of said alarm wheel, said portion of said actuating face being adapted to hold said alarm wheel in position to retain said spring member in the path of oscillation of said hammer, a notch cut in the actuating face of said rim cam providing means for allowing said spring member to move out of the path of oscillation of said hammer at a predetermined time, means for varying said predetermined time, means for manually projecting said spring member into the path of oscillation of said hammer to stop its oscillation, said last mentioned means comprising a push member slidably mounted in said frame, a projection on said spring member, said proj ection extending into the path of said push member, said push member being adapted to force said projection and hence said spring member into the path of oscillation of said hammer, means for holding said spring member in the path of oscillation of said hammer, said means comprising a re cess in said push member and a spring catch provided on said spring member, said catch being adapted to be projected into said recess and held by contact with said push member when said push member is manually depressed; a spring attached at one end to said frame and connected at its'other end to said push member, and a projection pro vided on the actuating face of said rim cam and adapted to further depress said spring member to release said catch from said recess to allow said last mentioned spring to withdraw said push member from engagement with said projection on said spring member. 7

i. In an alarm control, a hammer bar, a hammer attached. thereto, means for oscillating said hammer, a spring member periodically projected into the path of oscillation of said, hammer, manually-operated means for forcing said spring member into the path of oscillation of said hammer, an alarm wheel, mechanism for revolving said alarm wheel, a rim cam revolved by said alarm wheel, a notch out in the cam face of said rim cam, and a projection on the cam face of said rim cam, I

5. In an alarm control, a hammer bar, a

hammer attached thereto, means for oscillating said hammer at a predetermined time on each successive day, a spring member, an alarm wheel normally holding said spring member in the path of oscillation of said hammer bar, a rim cam revolved by said alarm wheel, a notch cut in the actuating face of said rim cam and adapted to allow the withdrawal of said spring member from the path of oscillation of said hammer to cause alarm action, means for retaining said spring member in the path of oscillation of said hammer to prevent alarm action on a day succeeding that of the last alarm action, and a projection 011 the actuating face of said rim cam to then render the means for oscillating said hammer operable at a predetermined time on the second day from the day of its last actuation 6. In an alarm control, a hammer, mechanism for oscillating said hammer, a spring member, the tension of said spring member tending to withhold it from the path of oscillation of said hammer, an alarm wheel bearing upon said spring member, a rim cam, a portion of the actuating face of said cam being cut on a plane substantially parallel with the face of said alarm wheel, a notch cut in the actuating face of said rim cam; a slidable push member,aprojection on said spring member, said projection extending into the path of said push-member, said push member being adapted to force said spring member into the path of oscillation of said hammer upon the coaction of said push member and said projection, a recess in said push member, a catch provided on said spring member, said catch being adapted to be projected into said recess and held by said push member when said push memher is depressed; a projection provided on the actuating face of said rim cam and adapted to further depress said spring member to release said catch from said recess, and means to then withdraw said push member from engagement with said projection on said spring member.

In witness whereof, I aflix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ALBERT IVHITON BAILEY. Witnesses J. M. Harms, Annm BAILEY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

